Love Lives On
by MuseMarbles
Summary: Before the appearance of Kurosaki Ichigo, the Soul Society was no less rowdy or threatened on an every-day-basis. Yet for the then much younger 10th Division Captain, life was incomparably peaceful, if not worthwhile the faint quirks on the edges of his lips. But what had happened before he was Captain? Before his then already rare smiles became completely non-existent?


Prologue

Narrator:

_It has been days since the restoration of the King's Seal. Soul Society returned to normalcy, whatever semblance it manifested as. It seemed as if the once again near-extermination of the Soul Society was nothing more than a fleck in the infinity of time. Yet for one snowy-haired Captain, this ordeal deepened a pre-existing void in his seemingly frost-bitten heart. To the naked eyes of others, the 10__th__ Division Captain lost a friend, a partner-in-crime, a sparring buddy. No one (with the exception of a few) recognized the weight of Kusaka Sojiro's existence in Toshiro Hitsugaya's life. Maybe that is why he died not only once, but twice. Perhaps this was a secret that is never to be revealed. _

_But fate is ironic, ruthless, and depleting. _

_Here is the story of the wielders of Hyorinmaru._

* * *

Chapter One:

"_To live at all is miracle enough."_

― _Mervyn Peake, Collected Poems_

Sunlight filtered through the blinds separating a mope of snowy hair from the tell-tale signs of spring. The 10th Squad office is deserted - save for the monotonous ticking of the clock and the subtle movements of labored breathing. But considering the nature of his "eventful" lifestyle, this serenity is all but a fleeting prelude to...

"RISE AND SHINE, CAPTAIN, I REALLY NEED HELP WITH SOME PAPERWOR-"

...the daily robustness of his irresponsible, curvy (according to his subordinates), drunken mess of a Vice-Captain.

Certainly, the boy Captain should have been effectively immune to her sporadic rowdiness, having been her superior for a good while. But this morning, no amount of deep breathes, sighing, or mental cursing could have prevented the icy Captain's morning temper. As if flipping an invisible light switch, the temperature in the room decreased a good 100 Degrees Celsius in between the furrowing of Hitsugaya's eyebrows and Rangiku's speedy escape from what is now a freezer-of-a-office.

Sensing complete silence in the room, Hitsugaya groggily rose from his faced-down position on his desk, with smears of ink on his cheeks. He scuffs at them roughly, but to no veil. Unless dowsed with soap and hot water, albeit for a good half an hour, his face is to remain comically marred for the day. Letting out an audible sigh, the overworked Captain maneuvered himself to face the window, and reached for the blinds. Then he pauses, forfeiting the idea to a sudden distaste for daylight, and stumps back onto his chair with an audible _thump_.

Through deep-hooded eyes and with ink-blotted fingers, Hitsugaya Toshiro proceeds to sort out the mess of his desk in the next minute. No amount of tiredness is going to dissuade the irritable Captain from being incredibly organized and uptight. After a period of shuffling and stacking, the 10th Division Captain deems the desk to be relatively clean and proceeds to rearrange the mess of writing supplies when he suddenly paused. Or more specifically, his left hand stopped in mid-air. Underneath it, is a sheet of paper, a faded yellowed hue. Had anyone else looked at it, they would have dismissed it as being an ordinary, tattered sheet of paper. But the boy Captain lifted it from underneath the tangled mess of brushes, supports its full weight with his right hand joining, and holds it to his chest almost gingerly, as if cradling a child.

He fell asleep just like that, with his head nodded slightly forward. His chin toughing the edge of the sheet of paper, mouth slightly slack, shoulders scrunched inward, forming a physical cocoon around the aged object. If anyone peered closely at the sleeping image of the boy Captain, one would notice a slither of a tear, just faintly, darkening the upper right-hand corner of the sheet of paper. And upon its surface, concealed by pale palms, the following words are in-scripted:

_Certificate of Marriage_

_This certifies that Kusaka Sojiro and Toshiro Hitsugaya, were united on this day, the 21__th__ of December in the year 1045. _

_This ceremony was witnessed in the year and celebrated by Hisao Sojiro and Mao Hitsugaya._

_Name of Person Solemnizing Marriage:_

_Genryūsai Shigekuni_

* * *

Author's Note:

I have been wanting to explore the 'could-have-been' romantic relationship between Sojiro and Hitsugaya for a long while, as a huge fan of the Diamond Dust Rebellion Movie, and have finally began to compose it. Hopefully I will be able to do these characters justice and explore the plotline in a fashion that is as realistic as to the original story (or rather, the-lack-of).

*On a side note, in this story, Toshiro's grandmother is truly his blood-related relative. As well, there were illegitimate family members for Sojiro's family.

Postings will occur weekly :)


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